Chapter 2747 - The Separation of the Heavenly and the Mundane

A cloud of dust swept outward.

The middle-aged man in coarse hemp clothing led his companions away.

Mu Qing watched, an overcast look on his face, his eyes blazing with murderous intent. However, when he looked at his companions, he held back and refrained from giving chase.

“Martial Uncle, the Black Cliff Sword Sect is just too much!” said Yu Guangjun, his face ashen.

He recognized that group of cultivators. They were from the Black Cliff Sword Sect, a faction hostile to the True Martial Sword Court.

The leader of the group, the middle-aged man in coarse hemp clothing, was one of the Black Cliff Sword Sect’s old-timers. His name was Zhu Quan, and he wasn’t any weaker than Mu Qing.

The Black Cliff Sword Sect was a faction of demonists. Everyone in it was a Demonist sword cultivator.

They were among the top Heavenly Monarch factions in the Eternal Heavens Domain. They didn’t just have ample foundations; they even had a powerful backer—Sevendeaths Court, a Heavenly Sovereign-level faction!

This was common knowledge in the Eternal Heavens Domain.

They said that the founder of the Black Cliff Sword Sect was Heavenly Sovereign Yaoguang’s brother-in-law. No one knew the full truth, but rumors had been circulating for countless years, and no one in the Black Cliff Sword Sect had ever tried to refute them.

“A treasure ship, that’s all. All’s well so long as everyone is safe,” Mu Qing said calmly. “That old devil Zhu Quan just came here to antagonize us.”

With that, he walked over to Su Yi and Pu Xuan, then clasped his fist in apology. “I failed to protect the ship, exposing you both to danger.”

Su Yi waved dismissively.

But Pu Xuan said, “Fellow Daoist, someone just cut apart your ship, and his insults were extremely grating to the ears. Are you really just going to tolerate it?”

Mu Qing said, “I’ll naturally look for an opportunity to settle the score when we reach the Mountain of Bitter Rains.”

“Will there be a lot of people there searching for good fortune?”

“I don’t know exactly how many factions will be participating, but I’m confident there’ll be quite a few.”

“I understand.”

The group promptly continued on its way.

After a while, Pu Xuan transmitted, “Mu Qing isn’t being honest with us.”

“Mm,” said Su Yi. “But he’s not being malicious, either.”

Given Mu Qing’s cultivation, he should have been able to sense the disturbance before Zhu Quan and his allies attacked. He should have had time to stop them from destroying the ship.

But Mu Qing didn’t stop them. There had to be a reason for it.

Perhaps he’d wanted to seize the opportunity to test Su Yi and Pu Xuan’s abilities.

Or maybe not. If Su Yi and Pu Xuan had attacked, they might well have formed a grudge with the Black Cliff Sword Sect. Perhaps that was Mu Qing’s true goal.

It was also possible that Mu Qing really had been caught off guard, but it didn’t seem at all likely.

Neither Su Yi nor Pu Xuan attacked Zhu Quan, so if Mu Qing had been hoping to establish a grudge between them, his plans had already ended in failure.

Pu Xuan stroked his jaw and transmitted, “Did he want to borrow another’s hands to kill his enemies? That would be truly unkind.”

Su Yi laughed. “If he dares to try it, we’ll just have to play with him. If he doesn’t, we’ll just pretend nothing happened.”

Pu Xuan nodded. Then, suddenly, he said, “That kid, Yang Lingxiao, is actually quite gutsy. He’s a moldable talent.”

Su Yi was stunned. He glanced at Yang Lingxiao.

The destruction of the ship had startled him, but he hadn’t lost his cool. On the contrary, he kept a clear head and instantly readied himself for battle. His courage and mentality were indeed extraordinary.

As they conversed, Mu Qing suddenly came up to Su Yi and transmitted, “Fellow Daoist Su, I’d like to apologize.”

Su Yi raised an eyebrow and feigned ignorance. “For what?”

Mu Qing grimaced. “Earlier, I could have blocked Zhu Quan’s sword, but I chose not to.”

“Why?” asked Su Yi. If Mu Qing wanted to confess, he didn’t mind hearing his explanation. He was effectively giving Mu Qing an opportunity to make amends.

Mu Qing pondered briefly, then told the truth. “I wanted to test something! I wanted to see whether anyone was following us, and if so, whether or not they’d intervene.”

This answer surprised Su Yi. “You thought someone was tailing us? And that whoever they were, they might have chosen to intervene?”

Mu Qing nodded. “The person I suspect to be following us is an extraordinary Heavenly Monarch, but forgive me; I cannot reveal his name or origins. I humbly request your understanding, Fellow Daoist.”

“Whoever he is, he clearly wants to stay hidden,” said Su Yi. “Aren’t you afraid that you just provoked him?”

Mu Qing grimaced. “It happened so suddenly. All I could think about was testing my hypothesis. It was only afterward that I realized I’d handled the situation badly, so I came here to explain myself.”

Su Yi understood. Mu Qing was confessing, not because he was worried that Su Yi would misunderstand, but because he was worried about what the mysterious person following them would think.

Su Yi suddenly asked, “Is that mysterious figure connected to me?”

Mu Qing couldn’t help but be surprised.

Fellow Daoist Su is quite perceptive. He instantly realized the crux of the matter.

Mu Qing shook his head. “Please don’t ask, Fellow Daoist. I promised not to divulge anything.”

Of course, this was an answer in its own right.

Su Yi looked at Mu Qing and smiled. “Outside the Great Qin Empire’s imperial city, I thought you’d changed your mind and tried to make amends because I spared Yu Guangjun. It seems I was mistaken.”

Mu Qing instantly felt awkward; he could hear the barbs in Su Yi’s words.

But that was the reality of the situation. If not for Yao Monarch Lian Luo, Mu Qing would never have lowered his head and apologized to an Unfettered Realm Sword cultivator.

Heavenly Monarchs were in the Heavenly Fate Realm, the fifth and final of the Five Realms of Eternity. They were top experts. Never mind Unfettered Realm cultivators; even Immeasurable Realm cultivators were nothing to them!

But hearing Su Yi acknowledge the situation out loud actually made Mu Qing calmer. At least this way, there would be no misunderstandings.

Otherwise, Mu Qing would have worried that Yao Monarch Lian Luo would be suspicious of him.

Mu Qing took a deep breath, then said solemnly, “My apologies, Fellow Daoist Su. I embarrassed myself in front of you, but I guarantee that nothing like this will happen again.”

Su Yi asked one last question. “The outcome suggests that the mysterious person you suspected of following us is no longer present. Given your status, why apologize to an Unfettered Realm junior like me?”

After a moment’s silence, Mu Qing said, “If I didn’t, I’d feel uneasy.”

Uneasy, not guilty.

Su Yi understood.

Ultimately, Mu Qing’s unease has nothing to do with me. He’s just worried that mysterious figure will try to get even with him.

Would he be acting like this otherwise? Most likely not. After all, a Sword Monarch like him has no need to concern himself with an Unfettered Realm Dao Lord’s feelings.

This was reality. Ultimately, when you really got down to it, the strong were respected, and the weak were as lowly as ants.

It was already quite impressive that Mu Qing had apologized to him.

Su Yi said solemnly, “I hope that nothing like this will happen again.”

Mu Qing sighed in relief, but at the same time, he couldn’t help but be solemn. He actually felt an inexplicable pressure emanating from this Unfettered Realm sword cultivator!

It was in that moment that Mu Qing finally started to take this “junior” that Lian Luo was protecting seriously.

...

Five days later, they reached the borders of the Huaihuang Empire.

The Huaihuang Empire was a mundane nation within the Blue Peak Continent. The Mountain of Bitter Rains was located within its borders.

It was a small country, just thirty thousand miles across. From above, its territories were the shape of a locust tree.

The Blue Peak Continent was home to countless living beings, but the vast majority were ordinary mortals.

Mundane nations like the Huaihuang Empire were as numerous as the stars overhead, and they were scattered across the continent.

Su Yi and his companions sensed a starkly different set of the Laws of the Heaven’s Will before even reaching the Huaihuang Empire.

“Everyone, when you enter a mundane nation, the Laws of Heaven’s Will shall seal your cultivation base, making you into an ordinary mortal,” Mu Qing said gravely. “Cultivators like us will, at most, be comparable to trained mortal martial artists. Thus, if you’re to visit, you must proceed with the utmost caution.”

The group nodded.

Su Yi had spent the past few days reading, so he understood all this already. It wasn’t just the Blue Peak Continent; this quirk of the Laws of Heaven’s Will existed throughout the Eternal Heavens Domain.

Simply put, this was a separation of the heavenly and the mundane. The mortal world and the world of cultivators were kept apart.

Cultivators who entered mortal lands would be sealed, temporarily reduced to ordinary mortals. They’d then have no choice but to follow the rules of the mundane world.

Even their treasures would cease to function.

This was an ironclad rule. Only Heavenly Sovereigns could resist!

Others, even the greatest of Heavenly Monarchs, would be reduced to ordinary mortals.

Thus, cultivators typically wouldn’t visit mundane nations unless it was absolutely necessary. It wasn’t out of disdain; mortal lands were just too dangerous.

Over the years, no small number of accomplished old monsters had died at the hands of ordinary mortal martial artists in mortal lands.

Rumor had it that once, a long time ago, a famous Heavenly Monarch explored a mortal nation, only for a pig butcher to cut him open and toss his corpse into a ditch.

This incident took the Eternal Heavens Domain by storm, and the unfortunate Heavenly Monarch became a laughingstock.

Even the Divine Reverence Pavilion commented, “People bring their misfortunes upon themselves. The wrath of even an ordinary man can kill a Heavenly Monarch.”

They believed that of all the Heavenly Monarchs who’d died over the years, this one’s death was the most wretched.

It wasn’t that mundane nations lacked the good fortune of the Grand Dao. Rather, anyone who managed to step onto the path of cultivation would ascend, leaving the mundane nation of their birth, never to return.

Mortals called this “shattering the sky.” This was the ultimate goal of mortal martial artists and wandering warriors.

Su Yi couldn’t help but sigh after learning this.

The heavens are indeed impartial. They treat all things as straw dogs.

Both cultivators and ordinary mortals were treated equally by the Will of the Heavens. To the heavens, neither is any more important than a straw dog.

Although the cultivation world was separated from mortal kingdoms, a path remained. This unquestionably left even ordinary mortals a thread of hope of becoming cultivators.

A mortal who practiced

qi gong

to the mastery could seize an opportunity to shatter the skies and ascend, departing the mortal world forever.